Stormy Travels: Naka Island

Today we planned to have a relaxing day enjoying our pool! I didn't know how much I needed to just do and think about nothing until I was doing it. It has been amazing getting to recharge stress-free and I can't believe today is already the 17th meaning day 9 of traveling! We have been having such a wonderful trip and I don't want it to end!

Hunter and I slept in a little bit this morning and then went to breakfast around 9am. On the walk there we came across a huge millipede that was as long as my hand! Breakfast served the same things as previous days but this time they came around with a special dish for us to taste which was nice. It was a sweet potato cake with custard and coconut sauce and tasted delicious!

Big millipede

Breakfast

Sweet potato cake

I ate my pancakes before I could take a picture, they were so good!

The main pool looking like glass

Hunter found this cool flower from a tree

After breakfast, we went back to the villa to swim and enjoy the sunshine, but it slowly turned to rain around 12:30. We didn't let it stop us and decided to walk to the Naka Palm for lunch, a restaurant on the island about 10 minutes outside of the resort. There is a whole little village on the island outside of the resort and we wanted to check it out. We took the umbrellas and were on our way. We came across a cow, some tour offering huts, a hut with a washing machine, rubber trees that we could see up close which was super cool, and finally, we made it to the small village. There wasn't much going on, but one other British couple having lunch at the restaurant that seemed to be staying at the B&B on the island outside of the resort. As we sat waiting for lunch, we had two feline visitors that were very chatty and adorable! When it came time to pay, we realized we didn't have enough cash. We had seen reviews on google that said they could take various mobile paying systems, but they seemed to not while we were there. They did take US dollars however which Hunter had in his wallet and we were set after that. They were friendly and the food was delicious. It was nice to get away from the resort for a bit and get some more authentic local flavor and the staff was super nice.

Relaxing under the cabana

Quick rain storm

I took a timelapse of the rain storm

Off to lunch!

Outside of the resort!

The cow we found

The road to the village

A sign that talks about the construction of the concrete road

Banana trees

Here are washing machines, 1 load is 40 bhat which is $1.10

Rubber tree cup

Healed scarring on the rubber tree

Almost in the village

The local mosque

Tour office

The school

Gas station and snacks

more washing machines if laundry was needed

Cat friend!

The menu!

The cat was sad that it wasn't being fed

Spring rolls

Heart rice

Two feline friends!

The kitchen our food was made it

We then made the short walk back to the resort where we came across some chickens and roosters. The rain had also let up which was nice, while it is technically the rainy season in Thailand it has not messed with our visit much, and its really nice to have some cloudy and rainy time as it keeps the heat down considerably. A lot of locals say they actually recommend visiting this time of year for the temperature and less crowded sights. Wandering along the same cement path we had taken to the village took about 15 minutes as we took some pictures and generally enjoyed ourselves. We made it back to the resort in time for free afternoon ice cream! I had lime and Hunter had chocolate chip. After our snack, we went back to the villa and hopped into the pool to cool down from our hot and humid afternoon adventure. We spotted some birds and noticed the tree beside our villa had these big fruits on it, which turned out to be an elephant apple tree. The trees are highly valued for their medicinal properties and an important source of food for elephants. One of them also fell in our outdoor shower making a loud thud.

Chickens and roosters

Ice cream!

Bird watching

Elephant apples

Low tide from the pool

We enjoyed being poolside until dark when we were finally hungry again and went to the My Grill restaurant where we ordered off the Tonsai menu. Hunter had the shrimp fried rice in a pineapple and I had the fishcakes. They also surprised us with tasty bread to start and a salmon bite. Our food was delicious and we got surprised again with chocolate ball bites for dessert that helped repair our previous lunch experience.

Found a gecko on the wall on our walk to dinner

Nice views, even in the dark

Bread to start

The salmon bit

Shrimp pineapple fried rice

Prawn cakes

Dessert!

After dinner, I was quite tired and worked on my blog a bit. I then went to shower and found a cute little friend, a gecko, deciding to shower with me. Having a mostly open air / outdoor villa has definitely been unique I just really hope I don't find a millipede at some point inside. After getting squeaky clean I was shortly asleep.